1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility vehicle and, in particular, to a front under guard structure of a utility vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In vehicles for running on general roadways, front wheel mud guards for avoiding mud splashed by the front wheels are attached to a vehicle body on the rear sides of front wheels. For example, a prior art in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. H07-315251 discloses a technique that mud guards composed of a resin material are attached to a vehicle body on the rear sides of front wheels in wheel houses so that scattering of mud to the rear sides of the front wheels is avoided.
Meanwhile, utility vehicles for running in off-road circumstances such as uneven ground surfaces and rocky surfaces are used in various kinds of applications like leisure use as a truck for hunting and work use as a truck for agricultural, work. When such utility vehicles run in off-road circumstances, obstacles such as stones and wooden twigs are kicked up by the wheels in some cases.
The engine of a utility vehicle is installed in an engine room located generally between the front wheels and the rear wheels of the vehicle-body frame. An engine under guard is arranged under the engine. Then, the engine under guard avoids a situation that obstacles such as stones and wooden twigs, for example, kicked up by the front wheels, hit the engine or the like. In the surroundings of the front wheels serving as steering-achieving wheels, wheel houses are formed for accommodating the front wheels. Then, in order to ensure a steering margin for the front wheels, spaces are formed in the vehicle-body front-rear directions in the wheel houses for front wheels.
Obstacles such as stones and wooden twigs kicked up by the front wheels may hit the engine under guard and, in some cases, enter the large spaces formed in the vehicle-body front-rear directions in the wheel houses for front wheels.